Complete catechesis of Pope Francis: The theological virtues

The one and the other, brought together in different systematic reflections, have thus composed a wonderful septenary, which is often contrasted with the list of the seven capital sins. He Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the action of the theological virtues like this: “The theological virtues found, animate and characterize the moral actions of the Christian. Inform and vivify all the moral virtues. These virtues are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and deserving eternal life. These three virtues, faith, hope and charity, are the guarantee of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being” (no. 1813).

While the risk of the cardinal virtues, let’s talk about risk, runs the risk of generating heroic men and women who do good, but who act alone, isolated; On the other hand, the great gift of the theological virtues is the existence lived in the Holy Spirit. The Christian is never alone. He does good not because of a titanic effort of personal commitment, but because, as a humble disciple, he does good because as a humble disciple he walks behind the Master Jesus, he goes ahead on the path.

Theological virtues are the great antidote to self-sufficiency. How many times do certain morally irreproachable men and women run the risk of becoming presumptuous and arrogant in the eyes of those who know them! It is a danger that the Gospel well warns us about, where Jesus recommends to the disciples: “You also, when you have done everything that was commanded of you, say: ‘We are useless servants. We have done what we should.’” (Lc 17,10). Pride is a poison, a powerful poison: just one drop is enough to ruin an entire life marked by good. A person may have performed countless good deeds, may have earned praise and praise, but if he has done all this only for himself, for himself, to exalt himself, can he be considered a virtuous person? No no.